Buffs Fall In Overtime At Texas

AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Colorado women's soccer team (4-5, 0-1 Big 12), lost their Big 12 Conference season opener to the University of Texas ( 6-3, 1-0 Big 12) by a score of 3-2 in double overtime here Friday evening.

"It was great the way we fought back after giving up the lead," said head coach Austin Daniels. "It's very disappointing to not get the result. I thought we played well enough to get the win. They are a good team and we are a good team, so to fight that hard and not get the result is disappointing."

Colorado took the lead early when senior midfielder Andrea Matassa took a long pass from senior Sarah Nowfel, which she touched past an oncoming Shay Wilkerson to give CU the lead 1-0 at the 6:38 mark. The goal was Matassa's second of the season, with Nowfel earning her second assist on the year.

The Buffs would not lead for long, however, as Texas freshman Kylee Wosnuk tied the game at the 10:31 mark, less than four minutes later. Classmate Kati McBain knocked a pass through the goalmouth to an on-rushing Wosnuk who knocked the ball into the left corner of the net past CU's Danielle Bassett.

Texas outshot Colorado 10 to five in the first half, with the Longhorns' Wilkerson hauling in just one save to Bassett's three. The first half was a physical one, with the Buffs getting whistled for eight fouls to Texas' five. The 'Horns also took four corner kicks to CU's two.

The Longhorns took the lead at the 63:49 mark of the game on a corner kick, when Jessica Hopkins headed the ball high on Bassett, who saved the initial shot. Hopkins volleyed in the rebound for her first goal of the season to give Texas the 2-1 lead.

Colorado answered at the 71:20 mark, when senior forward Melissa Cartmell scored her fourth goal of the season to tie the match 2-2. Freshman Kristin Robertson got past a UT defender, and then knocked a short pass behind Cartmell. The senior stopped and turned to receive the pass, then took two touches to her left before shooting the ball just under the cross bar with just under 20 minutes to play. The assist was the first of Robertson's career, and Cartmell's goal was the 22nd of her career.

The Longhorns got the game-winner with just 6:40 left in the second overtime, when Abby Gutowski drove a shot across the goalmouth into the upper-ninety of the far post off a pass from McBain. Bassett got a hand on the ball, however it deflected into the net. It marks the second time UT has beaten CU in overtime, with the 'Horns beating the Buffs 1-0 in extra time in Boulder on Oct. 6, 1996.

"It's hard to fight like that and then not get the win," said sophomore defender Aimee Bugay. "We fought so hard and came from behind after giving up the lead, and to lose like that in overtime is really tough to take. We were clearing balls off the line and throwing ourselves in front of their shots, basically doing everything we could do to just stay in the game, but it just didn't happen for us tonight."

Bassett pulled in a new career-high in saves with 14, surpassing her previous career-high of 13, set in 1999 in a 2-1 win over Utah on Sept. 24. Matassa's goal at the 6:38 mark of the first half was the third-fastest in Colorado history, just behind teammate Jessi Burgener's game-winner against Cornell in the home opener on Sept. 8 (3:39) and Heather Zonker's game-winner on Sept. 25, 1998 in a 4-0 over UMass (5:12). It also Matassa's career-high for goals and points in a season (two and five, respectively), which she set in 1997 and tied in 1998.

The overtime game marked the second time in CU history that the Buffs have played back to back overtime games, the first time corning in 1998, when CU tied Oklahoma State 1-1 in Boulder on Oct. 4, then defeated Colorado College 1-0 in the Springs. The Buffs set a new school record for fouls in a game with 20, breaking the previous record of 18 set at Iowa State in the program's inaugural season. Texas peppered the Buffalo net with 37 shots, tying the CU opponent record set by North Carolina on Sept. 10, 1999 in a 6-0 Tar Heel win.

Colorado continue their tour of the Lone Star State on Sunday, Sept. 24 when they travel to College Station to take on No. 10 Texas A&M at noon MDT.

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Team Stats

Melissa Cartmell

Andrea Matassa

Kristin Robertson

Sarah Nowfel

Players Mentioned

Danielle Bassett

Aimee Bugay

Jessi Burgener

Melissa Cartmell

Andrea Matassa

Sarah Nowfel

Kristin Robertson

Heather Zonker

Players Mentioned

Danielle Bassett

Aimee Bugay

Jessi Burgener

Melissa Cartmell

Andrea Matassa

Sarah Nowfel

Kristin Robertson

Heather Zonker